Abandoned Shop in the Woods

Urban exploration is not always about finding abandoned houses, warehouses, factories, or massive amounts of cars. Sometimes it’s all about the small find: little places or items that can still tell a story. This was the case when I stumbled upon this abandoned auto-shop in New Jersey.

Years ago when I lived in New Jersey, I would often just walk through the woods. Nature up north is hard to beat. I was following a path that I normally did, but one day, I went a little farther. Through some reeds, I saw a structure in the distance. I scouted out the area from where I was, and after I determined it to be abandoned, I decided to take a look.

It was a basic wood frame building with a cinderblock foundation. It was quite modern, but it still looks like I had not been used in years. There were a few bay doors, and with the tires, gaskets, and drums lying around, it appeared to be and old shop of some sort. It was probably for trucks based off the type of tires, and I remember seeing old dump trucks at another location somewhat nearby.

Next to that building was a smaller building that looked like a small barn on the inside. There were some interesting things lying around like some old pictures and a CD. This was closer to some houses, so I did not spend much time here. I just took a few pictures and left.

While this isn’t exciting like the abandoned airport I explored, that’s what urban exploration is like: sometimes you find gold, and other times it’s an old soda can found in a river in Alaska. That’s the game, and it is what you make of it! If you want to see more of what Mother Nature takes back as hers, then keep coming back to this blog, as there is plenty more to come. Thanks for stopping by.

Abandoned Airport | Preston Airfield (Marlboro Airport)

New Jersey is filled with history. Some of it is preserved, and some of it is left to rot. This is the case with this abandoned airport. Preston Airfield, also known as Marlboro Airport, located in Morganville, New Jersey is one of the top places that I have been to. While it is a smaller airfield, it’s not something that is as common as an abandoned house.

Rhea Preston was the man responsible for building the airport. In 1932, Preston flew his first plane at age 20. After that, he started taking lessons, and was hooked. In 1939, he began using a flat portion of the Preston Farm to take off and land his Luscombe Silvaire that he bought that year. When WWII started, he left for the Navy.

When he came back home, be wanted to build is own airport on the 44 acre farm. It took a while for the township to get on board, but all the necessary paperwork was completed, and the Preston Airport opened in 1954 with a single dirt runway. Just before 1972, the airfield gained a paved runway and was later sold. Preston said it was a lot of work to keep the place running, and it wasn't exactly profitable.

By 1974, there were about 100 planes associated with the airfield. The same year, it was named the “best maintained” airport by the state’s Aviation Advisory Council. The next year, it was approved for 21 new hangers and an 840 square foot operational building. As time went on, the name was changed to Marlboro Airport (due to the township it was in – Marlboro Township), and owners changed.

Its fate became sealed when it was purchased in 2000 by Marlboro Holdings LLC, and that land was to be turned into housing. It was closed for good in 2002, and the hopes of it being turned into housing failed after federal count cases proved the mayor accepted bribes to get the area re-zoned.

Today, everything is gone expect for some rubble and the crumbling runway. When I went in 2010, the buildings were still there, and so was the runway. Part of the airfield is used as a cemetery, and I believe the rest is now owned by the Monmouth County Park System.

I sort of went on a whim while scouting another location that will be featured in an upcoming post, and I went while the sun was going down. I don’t like going to abandoned places in the dark. It’s harder to see, harder to take pictures, and looks more suspicious. However, I parked my car at the end of the cemetery, which still had some snow on the ground where it was piled up after the last storm, and walked up to the field.

With the sun setting, my pictures were not that great, so I apologize. The area was eerie. It was empty. Therefore, I loved it. The buildings and hangers had some plane parts, paperwork, and other historic artifacts of the once popular airport. It was messy inside, but it did not seem like it was too vandalized. I didn’t get to explore all the buildings due to the setting sun, but I did get to see the hangers on the north side of the property, and south-west side.

It’s a shame that history falls apart sometimes like this, but it’s people like me who hope to help preserve it, if only just text and some pictures. If you wish to learn more about the airfield, there is a book by Randall Gabrielan that has a small section on it, but it also covers some great local history. There is also a website by Paul Freeman that covers abandoned and little-know airfields and covers the airport history in great detail. If you want to see more of what Mother Nature takes back as hers, then keep coming back to this blog, as there is plenty more to come.